Besides an annual festival in May, Circusstad Festival Rotterdam has several projects to develop the Dutch circus field.
One of these, Circunstruction is the most experimental, giving young creators the space to shape groundbreaking ideas.
It is a residency program that focuses on the first phase of creating their own performance. Every year, a number of young talents, receive three weeks of residency, workshops, artistic support and try-outs, all this spread over three months.
On November 17th these artists of Circunstruction will present their works in progress at Maaspodium in Rotterdam:
Luise Hoffmann:
Trapeze artist Luise graduated from Codarts Circus Arts in June and has been nominated for the BNG Bank Circus Prize 2023. "What I think, they think" will be her first solo performance about the small situations in life that, when you think about it, turn into a very big conflict about the world, yourself and humanity. An enchanting and funny performance at the trapeze that explores the complex relationship between thoughts, perceptions and reality.
Simon Granit Ossoinak:
Simon also studied at Codarts. In "The Odd Ones," in addition to being an artist, he is for the first time directing his fellow performers. The performance is about being different and the social dynamics needed to make connections between people. In a mix of acrobatics and dance, three very different people will slowly navigate their way through the social dance to understand people who are different from themselves, learn from them, and even enjoy each other's company.
Exhibition/installation by: Melody Nolan & Omer van Soldt
The third Circunstruction project "Place/Make" will be an on-site circus performance and installation that takes place behind a storefront window and seeks out the stories that can be found in any seemingly empty space. This performance will be featured during Circusstad Festival 2024. At Maaspodium, Melody and Omer are showing an exhibition/installation as a preview.
Daniel Simu:
Daniel Simu has been invited as a special guest on November 17. In Acrobot, Daniel Simu will redefine our understanding of human-machine cooperation with his self-built robot acrobat. Through a mix of juggling and acrobatics, he tells his personal story about the discovery of the Acrobot and aims to question our connection with machines and the future of the performing arts. This project also received support from Circusstad Festival.